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Post by Steve on Dec 5, 2011 1:30:14 GMT -6
A Memorable Aurora Over Norway It was one of the most memorable auroras of the season. There was green light, red light, and sometimes a mixture of the two. There were multiple rays, distinct curtains, and even an auroral corona. It took up so much of the sky. In the background were stars too numerous to count, in the foreground a friend trying to image the same sight. The scene was captured with a fisheye lens around and above Tromsø, Norway, last month. With the Sun becoming more active, next year might bring even more spectacular aurora.
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Post by skywalker on Dec 5, 2011 14:37:52 GMT -6
That is so cool! I would love to see the auroras someday. Every time I have gone up north there hasn't been a thing in the sky. I even spent two weeks in Alaska one year and didn't see anything. I might have to plan another trip.
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Post by auntym on Dec 5, 2011 15:24:34 GMT -6
WOW.... is all that comes to mind.... .... that is sooo beautiful
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2011 16:49:35 GMT -6
~yawn~ I've seen better.
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Post by skywalker on Dec 6, 2011 9:21:25 GMT -6
~yawn~ I've seen better. Yeah, but did you take pictures and post them on the forum? Noooooooo.
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Post by spotless38 on Dec 6, 2011 9:23:22 GMT -6
~yawn~ I've seen better. Yeah, but did you take pictures and post them on the forum? Noooooooo. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2011 11:04:05 GMT -6
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Post by lois on Dec 6, 2011 13:35:39 GMT -6
I have seen a few here in Illinois, but not as beautiful as this one. There was one that has stuck in my mind . it was back in 68 I believe. We had come home from a drive in theater, and I notice it right off. My four year old daughter and I sat on her swing set out in the back yard for almost an hour, she was really fascinted by it. My son said he was going to be after on look.. It had blue in it. dark royal blue I believe.
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Post by skywalker on Dec 6, 2011 22:15:12 GMT -6
Do auroras ever appear during the daytime or are they only visible at night?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2011 22:47:44 GMT -6
Do auroras ever appear during the daytime or are they only visible at night? Only at night. The sun overpowers them when it's daylight...
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Post by skywalker on Dec 6, 2011 22:55:34 GMT -6
That's interesting. That's the way the Marfa lights are also, although I have seen them at twilight before it was totally dark. How dark does it have to be for the auroras? I assume they are more visible some nights than others. Do they always show up every night?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2011 23:05:23 GMT -6
That's interesting. That's the way the Marfa lights are also, although I have seen them at twilight before it was totally dark. How dark does it have to be for the auroras? I assume they are more visible some nights than others. Do they always show up every night? No, it depends on the magnetic activity in the upper ionosphere... solar flares shoot little magnetic particles towards the earth, they're like a fine dust. When they are caught by the Earth's magnetic field, they create colors as they steak across the sky... of course the closer they get to Magnetic North or Magnetic South, the faster the particles move. This is why the arctic and the antarctic see them more often than other places. The different colors depend on what metals are in the dust... it's almost always green... where I live at least... other colors are very rare... ~shrug~ When it's overcast you can't see the aurora, it has to be clear skies... but if there isn't a lot of solar flare activity, you probably won't see the aurora. If you live in a city, like Fairbanks or Anchorage for example, it will be extremely unlikely that you will be able to see the auroras. Why? Because the lights from the city will dull it and make it invisible. This is why you can't see it during the daytime either... it has to be VERY dark in order to fully appreciate it... If you light a candle in a dark room you can see it clearly, but if you shine a spotlight on it, you can't see the light from the candle at all...
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Post by skywalker on Dec 6, 2011 23:22:13 GMT -6
Do they know what type of metals cause the different colors? I've seen several huge green meteorites streaking down. I've also seen white ones and a couple of red ones. I wonder if they are made of different metals also?
That one time I saw the Marfa lights at twilight they were all different colors...red, green, purple, blue, yellow, pink...that was the best show I had ever seen from them.
I don't know if the Marfa lights have anything in common with the auroras since I still don't have a clue what they are but it's possible.
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